Movie Mini-Review: Moon

"Moon" suffers from the same problem as most science fiction dramas: The initial concept falls apart if you think through all of the societal ramifications.  It's not a bad movie and Sam Rockwell is terrific as the main character, Sam Bell.  Overall, it rates as a B. In the future, Lunar Industries mines Helium-3 on the moon to be used as fuel back on Earth.  Sam Bell is the only employee there, whose job is to monitor the automated mining equipment and ensure that the whole operation is running smoothly.  A robot, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey), assists him in his duties.  A communications satellite appears to be out, so he can only communicate with Earth via taped messages.  Basically, the movie deals with how he handles his loneliness and what happens when he gets injured while performing his duties.  The way that the station is staffed is where the science fiction occurs and where the moral implications are flawed.  Without spoiling this point, it's similar in a lot of respects to both "A.I." and "Blade Runner" and suffers from the same problems as both of those films.  If you had the technology to do this, why would this method of "creating workers" be better than just using robots alone that could never be hurt and wouldn't suffer from the psychological aspects of being alone for three years?  I like that this is a thoughtful and character-driven science fiction film even if I don't think the concept works 100%.  The art direction is nice and has a "2001: A Space Odyssey" feel mixed with Apple Computer design. The directing by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie) is very good and does a nice job of telling the story.